Guided tours · Gargagnago, Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella · Italy
The Masi winery at Gargagnago, in Valpolicella
vineyards, drying lofts and ageing cellars at the Serego Alighieri estate, with a guided tasting
The meeting point is the forecourt of the Serego Alighieri estate at Gargagnago, and it is also where the motorhome stays for the whole visit. The guided tour holds together three things that are usually seen apart: the vineyards trained on the Veronese pergola around the estate, the drying loft where the grapes shrivel on bamboo racks, and the underground ageing cellars. It ends at the Rivendita Serego Alighieri with a guided tasting, and between tour and tasting it takes two and a half to three hours.
Getting there
- From Verona you head north west into Valpolicella Classica, through the Negrar, Marano and Fumane valleys
- The address is Via Stazione Vecchia 472, in the hamlet of Gargagnago, not in the centre of Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella
- The forecourt in front of the estate is wide and takes a long vehicle without trouble
- That same forecourt is the stated meeting point for the guided tours: there is no need to look for other parking
Practical information
Duration 2.5-3 hours between tour and tasting; within the tour, estate and vineyards 30-45 minutes, drying loft 15-20 minutes, underground cellars 30-45 minutes
Price from 30 to 130 euros per person depending on the route, tasting included
When to go September to January
Suitable for anyone who wants to understand how Amarone is made rather than simply buy a bottle; the cellars are underground, where it stays cool even at the height of summer
Booking compulsory for guided tours with tasting, not needed for informal tasting at the shop counter; same day bookings go by telephone or email, not online
Contacts
Where it is
Gargagnago, Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella · Veneto
You set off from
Notes
- Rivendita Serego Alighieri opening hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-16:00
- Routes and prices per person: Possessioni Experience 1.5 hours and 3 wines 30 euros, Tradition Experience 1.5 hours and 4 wines 40 euros, Valpolicella Experience 2 hours and 3 wines 45 euros, Masi & Serego Alighieri Experience 2 hours and 4 wines 60 euros
- Amarone verticals: Vaio Armaron 1.5 hours 95 euros, Campolongo 2 hours 120 euros
- From April to October there are also the electric bike and horseback formats, four hours; all year round the Risotto all'Amarone Experience, two hours, 98 euros
- The cheese pairing and the grappa tasting are 10 euros each on top, and payments are non refundable
- The classic four wine tasting is Valpolicella Superiore MontePiazzo, Rosso Verona Brolo Campofiorin, Amarone Riserva di Costasera and Recioto Casal dei Ronchi; the selection changes with the season and with availability
- The Masi website is masi.it, the estate's is seregoalighieri.it
- The Masi Wine Discovery Museum is not part of this visit: it is at the Masi Tenuta Canova estate, at Lazise on Lake Garda
- In the drying loft the grapes lose around 40 per cent of their weight over three or four months on the racks, and the fermentation that follows can last thirty days
- In the underground cellars the temperature stays between 12 and 13 degrees all year, and there is contemporary art along the corridors
- The vineyards lie between 100 and 400 metres above sea level, on volcanic soils, trained on the Veronese pergola
- The Boscaini family bought their first vineyard in the Vaio dei Masi in 1772, the 250th harvest was in 2022 and the sixth and seventh generations run the company
- The estate has belonged to the Counts Serego Alighieri, descendants of Dante, since 1353
- Amarone was born around 1936 at the Cantina Sociale Valpolicella, from a barrel of Recioto that cellar master Adelino Lucchese left fermenting and forgot
